To SurvivalBlog Readers:
I have gone back and read or skimmed the archives of every entry in SurvivalBlog since it’s inception in 2005. I’m sure that anyone who has read even a small portion of this excellent resource has come to realize that a means of self-protection is critical in a SHTF situation and that firearms are the primary tool to that end. To those that may not yet be aware, many popular types of ammunition have been scarce and have become more expensive and attempts by the government to regulate sales and possession of ammunition are becoming more frequent. A particular brand and type of .22 ammunition that I bought in bulk in August of last year at 3.1 cents per round is now almost impossible to find at below 20 cents per round. Increased manufacturing and materials costs cannot account for this increase. This has had an effect on the entire firearms industry.
Popular opinion as to why this happened is all over the place and includes reasons such as hoarding, manufacturers/distributors/dealers profiteering, scalpers, government intrusion into the market, etc. The shortage of ammunition and the run on the purchase of firearms appears to have started shortly after the last Presidential election. Again, opinion varies but many people feel that the President’s apparent anti- firearms position along with an increase in urban violence and increased pressure on Government officials to “do something” about the “gun problem” has caused a run on the market. This run now appears to be subsiding slightly but is far from over after nearly a year.
This letter, however, is not about firearms or ammunition, gun control or politics. It is to draw attention to how thin the thread is that ties us to the things that we need for our daily survival. I may be “preaching to the choir” here but just imagine if some event were to occur that pushed the cost of your favorite kind of canned beans from $1.89 to just under $14.00! Yeah, you could change brands or stop eating beans but what if the event or events effected the entire food industry? What if the event or events effected the petroleum distribution industry? Trucking? Electricity production? Again, I know I’m preaching to the choir but the above example of ammunition is real and could have just as easily happened to something more critical to our daily existence than ammunition. We now have proof that hoarding, manufacturers/distributors/dealers profiteering, scalpers, government intrusion into the market, etc can occur in a very short period of time. We also now have proof that the event or events may not too obvious in the daily scheme of things and might even go unnoticed until it was too late to react. Notice how little it took to trigger the shortage and price increases noted above? What would happen in the event of massive crop failures, widespread climatic disasters, disease, wars, economic collapse, inflation, martial law, rioting, etc either singly or in combination?
There are statistics that show that there is one firearm for every three people in the United States. Out of every three people in the United States, how many of them eat? Drink water? Depend on electricity? Would that not make shortages and price increases occur even more quickly and severely when a greater number of people were effected and the involved items more critical to survival? JWR has said repeatedly that you should buy tangibles. In my view, tangible does not mean gold coins that you can hold in your hand as opposed to a paper certificate saying that you own gold. Last year at this time, gold sold for $1,754 per ounce, today it is worth $1,271! I have already shown you what some ammunition prices have done within that same time frame. If I had taken my own advice, I would have bought more ammunition instead of silver coins which have gone the same way as gold.
I’m not trying to suggest what you should or should not buy. I’m just suggesting that the things we really need on a daily basis may be not be there when we need them or at a price we can afford and that a seemingly insignificant series of events could trigger the shortages and the hoarding, scalping, etc. etc. I know I am going to continue eating my favorite beans for some time and not at $14 a can! We now have proof. The handwriting is on the wall. Read it.
Be safe and prep as if your life depended on it, – G.L.D.